UK: Wilders banned from entering

UK: Wilders banned from entering

Update: For more Geert Wilders news see www.geertwilders.nl.

Geert Wilders, who received a letter from the Home Office refusing him entry to the UK on Tuesday, has urged the Dutch government to ban the Koran and warned of a "tsunami" of Islam swamping the Netherlands.

In a text to the APnews agency, Mr Wilders said he had no regrets about the trip, attacking "the cowards in the UK government," and accusing Gordon Brown of having a servile attitude toward Islam.

Mr Wilders had been invited to Westminster to show his 17-minute film Fitna, which criticises the Koran as a "fascist book", but will not be allowed into the country because his opinions "would threaten community security and therefore public security".

UK Independence Party peer Lord Pearson, who invited Mr Wilders to Britain, said the screening of the film would go ahead today "with or without Mr Wilders".

In a joint statement he and cross-bench peer Baroness Cox said they were "promoting freedom of speech" and accused the Government of "appeasing" militant Islam.

Lord Pearson asked Home Office Minister Lord West of Spithead: "Do you think this situation would occur if Mr Wilders had said ban the Bible?"

Lord West replied: "I certainly don't think we are guilty of appeasement in any way whatsoever.

"I don't want to go down the route of discussing a hypothetical case of what if he talked about this, what if he talked about that."

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Source: Sky News (English)